Wednesday, 10 August 2016

Abellio East Anglia Awarded East Anglia Franchise

Abellio East Anglia will run the franchise from October 2016, delivering faster, more frequent journeys along the route

Abellio East Anglia will oversee a massive £1.4 billion boost to rail services with more than 1,040 new carriages

90-minute services to run between Norwich and London each weekday with journey times cut by 10% on average across the region

around £1 billion contract for Derby train manufacturer Bombardier to supply new trains

According to the DfT press release issued this morning

A fully modernised rail service with British-built carriages
providing faster trains, more seats, free Wi-Fi for all users and tough
new performance targets.
The new service for rail passengers across East Anglia promises to
deliver more than 1,040 new state of the art carriages and cut journey
times by an average of 10%.
It will also deliver one of the biggest orders for British-built
trains – almost £1 billion for 660 carriages from the Bombardier factory
in Derby – as part of a contract that will secure 1,000 jobs into the
next decade.
The government today announced it has awarded the franchise to
Abellio East Anglia, who will oversee this £1.4 billion investment to
local rail services.
Key benefits of the new franchise include:

at least 4 90-minute services (2 in each direction) between London
and Norwich each weekday and 2 60-minute services per day between
London and Ipswich

free Wi-Fi for all passengers on trains and at stations

1,043 new, state of the art carriages between January 2019 and
September 2020 to support the faster timetable, with a full programme of
refurbishment for the current fleet in the meantime

automatic ‘delay repay’ for season and advance purchase tickets

tough new targets for operational performance levels at 93% - up from 89.7% currently

a host of new ticketing initiatives, starting in October 2017,
including new offers for part time users and those who don’t travel
every day.

By 2021, there will be more than 32,000 more seats on services
arriving at London Liverpool Street in the morning peak, while the new
franchise will introduce 1,144 additional weekday services – an increase
of 13% – to stations including Cambridge, Norwich, Stansted Airport,
Lowestoft, Southend and London Liverpool Street.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

We are making the biggest investment in the railways since the
Victorian era. By awarding this franchise to Abellio East Anglia we will
improve journeys for people in East Anglia.
Abellio’s decision will ensure our train building industry in Derby remains strong.

This is part of our plan to make an economy that
works for everyone – not just the privileged few – by ensuring
prosperity is spread throughout the country.

Dominic Booth managing director of Abellio UK said:

This is great news not only for Abellio but for the whole of East
Anglia. We are pleased to become preferred bidder to deliver a
transformation in rail services across the region.
It will enable us to build on the successes of the 2 short East Anglian franchises we have run since 2012, and we commend the DfT in running a transparent and rigorous procurement process.

Our plans will greatly improve our customers’
experience with faster and more reliable journeys on new trains with
higher frequencies and reduced journey times, to support the
socio-economic well-being of East Anglia, one of the country’s most
successful and fastest growing areas.

Des McKeon UK Commercial Director at Bombardier Transportation said:

We’re delighted to be chosen, pending final contract signing, as
the preferred supplier for new trains for the East Anglia franchise. We
look forward to working with our customer the Abellio UK,
to support them in transforming rail services throughout the region and
delivering an enhanced customer experience through the provision of new
trains.

It’s a great endorsement of Bombardier’s
next-generation AVENTRA train family, which offers maximum flexibility,
to serve many different market requirements from metro to intercity.

More than 97 million journeys are made on East Anglia’s rail network
each year, with around 4,300 trains every week serving London commuters,
the regional hubs of Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich, leisure travellers
to Stansted Airport and coastal and rural resorts around the region.
The new franchise will run from October 2016 until 2025.

FirstGroup who also bid for the franchise issued a statement this morning saying

"We are disappointed not to have been awarded the East Anglia rail
franchise after submitting a compelling, deliverable, and value for money bid.
We continue to be disciplined in our approach to bidding for UK rail contracts
and will seek feedback from the Department for Transport to help shape our
approach to future competitions."

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